Another Consumer Electronics Show is upon us. The show kicks off with press previews on Sunday and Monday and then the full-on show the rest of the week.
As we do every year, we thought we would take a few words to tell you what to expect from our coverage of the show. It will be different than you’ll be seeing at a lot of the other sites out there, but I promise you it will be no less worth your time.
Who’s on site?
Providing the on-site coverage will be myself, as well as senior editors Alex Wilhelm and Brad McCarty. Yes, that’s right, there will just be three of us on hand. This is a far cry from the 90 that some other sites are sending, but we’re not going for ‘blanket’ coverage, so we’ll be ok.
Why so few people? Well, while The Next Web maintains a high profile in tech news by any metric, we’re actually still very much a startup at heart. We have 14 full-time writing staff in total, a fraction of what other sites are working with. But the TNW family makes up for it in hunger, a tough-as-nails approach to getting stuff right and a dedication to working together to serve you, the reader, that makes me proud every day. And we also tackle tech from a global perspective, with writers in 10 countries and on almost every continent.
So, three people is what we’re sending, but we’re going to do our best to make sure you still get the stories that matter.
The rest of our international team will be making sure you get your daily dose of regularly scheduled tech coverage the whole while. This way you’ll be getting the same great stories you’re used to seeing on TNW, along with a healthy dose of CES news and coverage.
Taming the CES beast
CES is an interesting case. Part trade show, part side show, it’s largely geared towards attracting potential buyers from electronics chains and smaller shops to the latest wares of tech powerhouses like Samsung, Canon, Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony and more. Along with the big names are thousands of other vendors who are there to show the newest batch of accessories and add-ons to the big products, and those who have smaller niche products that may be just as cool.
The TNW staff are trade-show veterans. We’ve got experience in wading through the crowds, dodging booth-babes and weathering the storm of PR to come out the other side with gems worth your time. As a team, we’ve been at these shows both from the press side and as a buyers for electronics and home theater retailers so we bring a unique perspective and, we hope you will find, an ability to seek out the best and brightest stuff.
Honestly, the whole show can be a bit of a soul-suck if you’re not careful. It’s hard to explain if you haven’t attended before but the smoke in the Vegas casinos, the crowds, the mind-numbing array of dead-end gadgets and hopeless ventures can get to you. It’s all too easy to focus on how big companies try to push their agendas on you and not on the fact that there is cool tech out there underneath it all.
Yes, you can get swept up in the media machine that’s trying to tell you what the ‘next big trend’ is, or to convince you that most of the stuff you’re looking at won’t be forgotten within weeks. But only if you let them do it to you. But we’re not interested in whining about it and I’m sure you’re not interested in listening to that. We’re just here to do our jobs and do them well.
Our goal is to dive into the show over the next week at all levels. At the high end with keynotes from Samsung, Panasonic and more, along with their respective product showings. On the other end of the spectrum, we’ll be spending time hoofing it through the smaller vendors and ‘one-man’ shops, seeking out those under-covered but worthwhile morsels that are deserving of your attention.
How big or small a company is, or how many products they offer, is of no interest to us. You won’t be seeing posts detailing every single model of new tablet or camera launching at CES, there are other places to find that. Instead, we want to find things that will make an impact, spark your curiosity, offer a brief moment of humor in just how silly they are or give you a window into what the next year in gadgets will bring.
Most of all, we’re looking to maintain our optimism and sanity and to act as the scythe’s edge that cuts through the chaff to bring you the golden wheat kernels of tech goodness.
Stories
Much of what we try to do here at TNW centers around making sure that we’re always telling stories. News items are timely, shareables are fun, but a story involves context, analysis and knowledge of a subject. We’re here to make sure that we’re always trying to tell you stories.
That’s why we’re going to CES with the explicit purpose of finding stories that will interest, inform and entertain you. And, most of all, not waste your time.
CES is a juggernaut of a show, and honestly much of it is just noise. It’s our job to plow through with our ears open and, hopefully, our filters tuned to seek out the absolute cream that you will see here on the site. We invite you to see what we come up with and will appreciate your feedback as we’re always looking to serve you, the readers, in the best way possible.
So, please do follow along here on TNW at the ‘CES2013‘ tag for all of our show coverage and don’t hesitate to follow me (Panzer), Alex and BradMcCarty on Twitter to get an ongoing stream of ‘show floor’ flavor and commentary throughout.
Thank you very much and we hope you enjoy The Next Web’s coverage of CES 2013.
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